USA - The wrong way to flouridate water

The wrong way to flouridate water
By Shokufeh Nourallahi
I am not a health nut. As long as what I am eating or drinking is considered "safe," I am all for it. But when I heard that San Diego County is going to start fluoridating the water supply in early October, I started to question the idea.
Fluoride is added to water because it is thought to prevent tooth decay. Calcium fluoride from the natural runoff of the earth's minerals was recognized as the cause of better dental health in children. It neutralizes the acidity around the teeth, preventing cavities.
I would have no problem if the San Diego County Water Authority would be using this chemical - it is naturally occurring in most water. But instead, the chemical being added is something called fluorosilicic acid. It is obtained from fertilizer production plants, where it is scraped off the walls of the production areas, and other elements that come with the fertilizer processing, such as lead, arsenic and even uranium, come with it. The fluorosilicic acid itself is not a naturally occurring chemical, and has effects on the body that include brittleness in the bones, extensively higher levels of lead in the blood, neurological diseases and even bone cancer. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Web site cautions on the fact sheet for fluorosilicic acid: "AVOID ALL EXPOSURE!" If a reputable source says to "avoid exposure" to a toxic chemical, and it's going to be put into our water, we should all be concerned.
According to Richard Sauerheber, a medical research scientist who has done a great deal of research on the subject of fluoridation, the fluorosilicic acid would enter the blood stream, being absorbed into the body - the root cause of the many diseases I mentioned. Harmless calcium fluoride, however, does not absorb into the body due to its chemical makeup.
If there are so many adverse reactions to fluorosilicic acid, why does the water authority use it when there is a completely safe and effective alternative? It happens that the fertilizer industry that produce the fluoride byproducts will gain huge profits.
Fluorosilicic acid is actually classified as hazardous waste, and is very expensive to dispose of. By selling it to the government, the waste is eliminated (it is then classified as a "product"), and fertilizer companies receive compensation. So basically, our health is being put at high risk for economical incentives between corporations and the government.
Many people aren't even aware this is going to happen. One Palomar student, Kevin Church, immediately pulled out his laptop and started to explore the subject when asked about it. As he read the effects fluorosilicic acid has on the human body, he stated, "You can't just administer this type of thing to people. It's just wrong ... people should have a choice."

Another student, Emad Elias, fought back with the argument, "They're trying to help people who can't afford oral care. All the people who are trying to vote it off drink bottled water. Most people who don't drink bottled water can't afford oral care."

But what about people who don't know the difference? I didn't know that fluorosilicic acid caused so many adverse health effects until I researched it. People who think the tap water is safe, like I did, would be at risk without even knowing it.

Fluorosilicic acid will be pumped into the water of all San Diego County starting early October. I hope that with the efforts of a concerned society, it will be stopped. We can't let our government fall into corruption and put our citizens' lives at risk - if our government is "by the people, for the people" then we, as the people, should stand up and end what is harmful and unethical.



Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3

Danny
posted 9/17/07 @ 5:02 AM PST
Dr Robert Carton, former President of the Union of Government Scientists, at the US Environmental Protection Agency stated that, "Water fluoridation is the greatest Case of Scientific Fraud of this Century, if not of all Time!"

Dumping Toxic diluted Industrial Waste into Drinking Water (+elsewhere), is done more for the benefit of Big $Industry$; than is done for teeth, still much less yet, for Health. (Continued…)

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Allen Frankel
posted 9/17/07 @ 11:25 AM PST
I do not believe that this is an acceptible trade-off and that when public health becomes endangered with the use of fluoride, then the government must comply with the health of the citizens in mind. (Continued…)

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Joy Warren
posted 9/17/07 @ 12:37 PM PST
Well done - a really good analysis of the situation. Something which purports to be a medicine should be clinically tested and licensed. Fluorosilicates are not tested and are not licensed. (Continued…)

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